Language Requirements In Québec: A Few Clarifications On The New Rules Of The Game

On January 10^th, the Quebec government published a draft regulation entitled Regulation to amend mainly the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business¹ (the "Draft Regulation"). The Draft Regulation clarifies recent amendments made to the Charter of the French Language (the "Charter")² by the Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec³ ("Bill 96"). Here is an overview of the highlights of the Draft Regulation.

Products Inscriptions

• Charter requirements. Generally, all inscriptions on a product, its container, wrapping or related documents or objects must be written in French⁴. There are several exceptions to this rule, including that a "registered trademark" within the meaning of the Trademarks Act⁵ (the "TMA") may be drafted, even partially, exclusively in a language other than French, where no corresponding French version appears in the register kept according to TMA⁶. However, if a generic term or description of a